Negative Gamer

Leaked Information Suggests Bargain Basement Waving With Natal

triumphofhearts — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 18:00:42 +0000

MCV this morning posted details from a “behind-closed-doors Microsoft tour of UK publishers and studios” regarding Natal’s potential 2010 price-point. Aiming to attract the “impulse buy”, the article rumours a sub-£50 price ticket, with 14 games being readied for the as yet unannounced launch with support from Activision, Capcom, EA, Sega, Square Enix and other big hitters confirmed.

Assuming prior ownership of the 360, this would provide the hardware to enable near 1:1 replication of flailing limbs, Rolf Harris’ Dulux canvas disasters and floods of Wii Fit inspired fat-busting sweat aids for less than the cost of a real game.

Xbox Studio’s boss Phil Spencer announced earlier this year that when “Natal arrives it will feel like a new generation has come”; a generation helped of course by the close release of Sony’s own “TV reporter in the field” style waggling device of virtual simulacra. Indeed, in this copycat era it can’t be long before handhelds get in on the action and Nintendo’s DSi demands a real-life quest to the local supermarket to help Link uncover Tri-Force fragments amidst diced lunchmeat. Truly, escapism has never been so exciting.

Gamers should look forward to output from first party developers like the often maligned Rare, no doubt locked in secrecy discussing why Perfect Dark’s next iteration would feel far more immersive if cover was initiated by the player actually pressing themselves against a wall while swinging wildly on pelvic-pivot to avoid shots like Konami’s dreadful Police 24/7.

Negative Gamer Review: Duologue (Xbox Live Indie Games)

Mark "junglistgamer" — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 16:51:15 +0000

Thanks to the kind folks at Funavision, we received a code for their new indie game Duologue. As a twin-stick shooter it inevitably draws comparisons to Geometry Wars but there’s a little more to the game than that. In fact, with the inclusion of a polarity switching mechanic, there’s an Ikaruga influence on Duologue as well. Clearly Funavision intends to stand on the shoulders of some true giants in the shmup genre.

There’s not much of a plot to Duologue, although one hardly seems necessary in an an arcade shooter. All you really need to know is that you are a tank and everything on the screen that isn’t a tank is not your friend. Score points, advance to the next wave, rinse, repeat.

Reverse the polarity! Maybe!

The polarity-switching mechanic at the heart of Duologue is a welcome addition that definitely adds a bit of variety to what could be a stale example of the genre. For those unfamiliar with the concept, its a simple system where the player switches between two different coloured shots to defeat enemies of the opposite colour. Where Duologue attempts to add something new is with the ability to repel enemies as well as just shoot them.

Unfortunately, the ability to repel enemies proved to be completely redundant when I played Duologue. In order to kill an enemy, you have to shoot it with opposite coloured bullets to the enemy. When you select the opposite coloured bullet to your enemy, you also generate a shield that’s the same colour as the enemy. The opposite coloured shield repels the enemy and the opposite coloured bullet kills them. Since most enemies can be destroyed with one shot and the ones that can’t are fairly easy to avoid, I found myself never really using the shield.

Nice art direction, now use it more often

If there’s one thing I found genuinely interesting about Duologue, then it’s the visuals. Much of the game has a cute cel-shaded style. In particular, I really enjoyed the sight of a weird little eyeball surrounded by bubbles floating around the screen. Other bosses and minibosses share this aesthetic and it gives the game a unique flavour that I’ve not encountered before .

However, there are some glaring inconsistencies in the art direction that I found irritating. One enemy that’s thrown at you is an awful little sprite that looks like a Boglin. Other mundane enemies appear from time to time and further compound the sense that half of Duologue’s art direction was incredibly well thought out and the other half was utterly throwaway.

A few other points worth mentioning:

The game costs 240 MS points and I’d say that’s a fair price.
I did not have a chance to check out the 4-player co-op mode.
There are a total of three game modes, none of which do much to differentiate themselves from one another. They’re basically just different scoring systems with no alterations to the core mechanics.
For an arcade shooter, it isn’t very challenging. I found myself getting to the halfway point on my first playthrough. Personally I appreciated the gentle increase in difficulty but if you are seeking a brutal challenge then this may not be the game for you.
There is a rhythmic element to the scoring, however it is very subtle and I didn’t find myself making use of it. If you shoot an enemy to the beat of the music, it increases your score. Whilst I appreciate the depth this adds for expert players, I wonder how many expert players of a small indie title there will be.

When Duologue moves beyond the standard arena shooter formula, it does so in incredibly subtle ways. If its more inventive mechanics were made essential to success this would be an exemplary game. As it stands, I found Duologue to be a simple, fun shooter with vibrant if inconsistent visuals. A fine example of the genre and a reason to keep an eye on the developer.

You should play this game if…

…you enjoy arena shooters and like cel-shaded graphics.

Final score

Impressive presentation lifts this twin-stick shooter well above mediocrity.

(What does this score mean?)

Suprise, Suprise, Modern Warfare 2 Got Edited In Germany.

erotic nerd — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 14:24:08 +0000

[The following text is spoiler free.]

Activision wants to make money, obviously. So what do they do when the latest instalment in a multi-million dollar franchise might get banned in a certain country? They edit it. Like they did with the German release of Modern Warfare 2.

Two weeks ago there was (and technically still is) the controversy about [this level], where you [do stuff]. You know the one. Instead of removing it completely, it got edited so that you [can't do stuff]. You can try, but if you do you get reset to the last checkpoint. [Doing stuff] with [certain people] is still without penalty. Basically the player becomes more of a spectator.

On the one hand it’s a good move to release the game in a form that is very close to how it was intended, on the other hand it destroys the ambivalence of the level that made it so interesting to me. Even if certain members of the Negative Gamer staff disagree with me, I still think that this mission will push gaming further in the right direction and give other developers the confidence to use this form of storytelling. I don’t want to [do stuff], but I [like it] when a game makes me question my actions.

Or am I just full of shit and need help soon? (Please keep the comments spoiler free. Thanks)

Chelsea Got me a Gift to Help With The Journalism

wardrox — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 13:20:15 +0000

I have now safely arrived in New Jersey after several days of being tired and moving very fast. Upon arrival Chelsea gave me a wonderful “Welcome to America” present as you can see above. It’s Sherlock Holmes’ actual magnifying glass! Obviously it hasn’t taken long for me to put it to good use.

Sega Decides no Aliens vs. Predator For Germany

Andy — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 02:47:55 +0000

Well Germany, are you happy? It looks like Sega have finally given up and Aliens Vs Predator isn’t going to get a release over in the land of ultimate censorship. The move to ignore the German market came about as Sega are concerned that ratings board USK (Unterhaltungssoftware Selbstkontrolle) would refuse to rate the game due to it’s inherently violent nature.

The costs of both translating the game and toning down the violence through editing the content would apparently incur more of a cost than would be made in the territory after editing. On top of the physical costs, altering any aspect of AvP would seemingly be counter-intuitive to the “coherence” between the Alien and Predator brands and their obviously mature themes.

Via: The Escapist

http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/96014-No-Aliens-vs-Predator-for-Germany

Negative Gamer Review: Galax-e-mail (Xbox Live Indie Games)

Pendelton — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 00:48:27 +0000

Twin-stick shooters. Ever since the popularity of Geometry Wars, people have been attempting to make the “next big thing” in twin-stick. Most get tossed into the Indie Games section of XBLA to wither and die (as they rightfully should). But some rise above the rest, and even improve upon the formula of Geometry Wars.

Galax-e-mail, the first title from Bog Turtle Games (yes, of Elfland Reloaded fame), is one such Indie Game twin-stick shooter and a copy was kindly given to us to review. The game has you traipsing around the galaxy acting as a sort-of electronic mail delivery service. Your task is to destroy alien bases throughout randomly generated arenas until you find a warp hole that delivers your e-mail to its final destination. Neither storm, nor black holes, nor alien swarms, nor minefields will stop you from accomplishing your appointed course.

Who Knew Delivery Could Be This Fun?

What we have here is a good example of what every twin-stick Indie Game wants to be. Galax-e-mail is one of the more refreshing Indie Games I’ve played. Controls are your common-place twin-stick controls (left stick controls movement, right controls shooting), with face buttons for using special weapons you pick up, such as an overshield, screen-wiping nuke, and wall-breaker missile. There’s also the shoulder buttons which control ship transformations (more on that in a bit). Everything is relatively clean, but I would’ve liked to see a tighter turning radius for my ship; I’ve wasted too much time in this game rotating my ship around a power-up, rather than collecting it.

Speaking of the ship, Galax-e-mail’s resident space cruiser is a fantastic means of conveyance. The ship has the ability to transform into one of three forms for whatever tasks you need accomplished. The first setting is a medium ship, with medium-strength weapons and speed. The second, a speed form, increases your movement at the cost of power. Your third and heaviest form glides slowly around, but has powerful shots. Each ship plays its own part as you go through the course of the game: the speed form is great for traveling long distances, the default is good for battling alien swarms, and the tank can destroy enemy bases like none other.

What Can Blue Spaceships Do For You

I was also impressed with the power-up and power-down systems in the game. Power-ups give you the ability to shoot two streams of bullets, whip your support ships into a frenzy, increase your health and give you extra ships. These helpful little guys act exactly as your ship does: they can transform, take on the same powers as your ship, etc. The ships are also your extra lives; when you die, your “soul” (a strange blue orb) floats into one of your buddy ships and takes it over. Die with no ships left, and it’s game over.

Power-downs are obviously an immense pain-in-the-ass. One can stop you from shooting by surrounding your ship with a peace sign. One slows you down, another makes you unable to stop moving (*grumble*), and yet another reverses your controls. Power-downs can also affect your ship differently depending on what form your ship has taken. For instance, if you picked up a “slow-down” item your heavy and medium ships slow to a crawl, but your speed form stops completely. I wasn’t expecting that kind of detail in an XBLIG, and I loved it.

What I didn’t love was the aggravating yet minor problems of Galax-e-mail. Power-downs can sometimes pop up out of nowhere, giving you little time to avoid them. Since they’re so small, lower-definition TVs don’t give you a good chance to decide if you’re about to pick up a power-up or power-down. And, since power-ups and power-downs stack as you collect them, you could have a completely defensive ship for a good 30 seconds. Enemies tend to drop homing mines behind them while they move, which become nearly impossible to dodge in later difficulty levels. These problems lead to immense casualties in later difficulty levels, but are somewhat manageable early on.

A few other points worth mentioning:

Rather than have different worlds to explore, the game has 100 difficulty levels you can change. At the end of each level, the game asks you whether the previous level was too easy or just right, and changes the difficulty according to your answer.
Loading screens are taken up by e-mail conversations between the brother developers, where one tells the other (and subsequently the player) a tip about how to play the game. You’re left to feel that the e-mail you’re delivering is the actual message you just read. Which is pretty cool.

You Should Play This Game If…

…you have any interest whatsoever in shooters, or have 200 MS points lying around.

Final Score

A fantastic Indie Game shooter that has some annoying points, but is overall fun and innovative.

(What does this score mean?)

EA Feels The Recession, Cuts Jobs And Titles

Sam "verygoodyear" — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 20:00:15 +0000

GamesIndustry.biz is reporting that Electronic Arts is planning to cut 1500 staff along with axing many “blockbuster” titles in order to save $100 million annually. The cuts are to be in areas such as corporate and publishing, with the biggest losses (900) occurring in the development sector.

EA’s CEO John Riccitiello said that it was never pleasant to see staff being cut and that: “We think the cuts we have made are very, very aggressive. We’ve cut teams, we’ve cut corporate, we’ve cut overhead [and] we’ve cut publishing”. EA has also stated that it will scale back its game production from around 60 titles last year, to 50 this year and “high 30s” in 2010.

EA is looking to focus on the more stable franchises such as FIFA, Madden or the recently announced revitalisation of the Medal of Honour franchise. He said titles need to be able to push 2 million units or more to remain safe. Riccitiello bluntly stated that:

Frankly anything that doesn’t measure up to looking like it can pencil out to be in very high profit contributor and high unit seller got cut from our title slate from this point going forward.

This seems like a fairly inevitable step for EA, especially when sales for titles such as Mirror’s Edge (personally EA’s bravest game in a long time) or Dead Space didn’t perform, despite some critical acclaim. New intellectual properties from all companies have tended to not sell well in the recent climate, with the majority of games released in the last year and continuing into next year, being sequels (Forza 3, Modern Warfare 2, Bioshock 2). While I can understand EA’s need to cut the newer titles, it’s a shame to see EA reverting back to releasing only the annual titles, however in the face of cutting staff it’s an obvious step.

Source: IndustryGamers.com

Australian Anti-Videogame Judge Is Aware Of Opponent, Unfamiliar With Subtlety

Mark "junglistgamer" — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 12:30:33 +0000

As well as being the home of some of the world’s deadliest creatures, Australia also happens to be home to one of the world’s most pompous and hysterical anti-videogame judges. Attorney General Michael Atkinson, as part of his ongoing crusade to deny Australia an 18+ or equivalent ‘adult’ rating for videogames, has acknowledged the existence of his opposition. I can already hear you asking, in the plaintive tone of someone unfamiliar with a slow news day, why is this newsworthy? Well, it’s because the acknowledgment was accompanied by an anti-videogame slur worthy of Keith Vaz himself. In response to the news that he will be challenged in the upcoming local election, Atkinson had this to say,

The voters of Croydon will now be asked directly whether they want interactive games in which gamers score points by raping a mother and daughter, blowing themselves up, torturing human figures . . . killing people and taking drugs to improve their sporting prowess

I’m not going to defend the games he’s clearly referencing. The torture comment alludes to the Manhunt franchise, and I’m guessing that the raping of a mother and daughter is related to RapeLay (which is no longer being distributed). As for taking drugs to improve one’s sporting prowess, that one has me completely stumped. Unless Pro Evolution Soccer has become a disturbingly realistic portrayal of the seedy underbelly of football, I’m not really sure what he’s talking about. Sarcasm aside, denying an 18+ rating to videogames based on those titles is a childish, ignorant move by someone who seeks to demonise a medium by citing only its worst elements.

Via: Gamepolitics

Disregarded Demographics: Cinema Audiences

Mike M — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 08:01:40 +0000

Aren’t other people who go to the cinema annoying? They natter, mess with their phones, kick seats, etc. There’s no end to the irritating things they can do. Now, what do people like to do in games? Grief people, the two go hand in hand. Cinema goers are about to get their own game.

Our latest game will be pitched to EA. Simena (not to be confused with Simenema, a hospital expansion for The Sims due next year) will use The Sims 3 engine and put you in a cinema in the role of either the irritated or the irritant. As the agitator you get to do all the great things mentioned above – and much more! Your only mission is to cause as much fury as possible while avoiding ejection by a member of staff, so that you can keep the fun going for as long as possible.

Before entering the screen, you are able to spend a limited amount of money on food or games within the cinema complex. The aim is, of course, to use your resources to get hold of things that will be the most helpful to you in creating maximum mayhem. Purchasing nachos will allow you a noisy crunch, popcorn is obviously hurlable, or if you want to be more daring you might risk a go on an arcade grabber machine to try and win a screeching puppet or some kind of electronic device. Earn extra coins by searching cinema floors during films – frustrating to others in itself!

Once you get into a film the game is on. Carefully deploy your props, voices and numerous appendages to cause huge discomfort to those around you. By watching out for body language you can work out when others are about to snap, giving you vital clues as to when to back off to avoid complaints being lodged against you. By gradually easing up and down the anger you’re bound to earn a more explosive pay off right at the end! Each film lasts for around ten minutes and has been created especially for the game, with an all-star cast including the likes of the Chuckle Brothers, Jodie Marsh and Tito Jackson. Each film has its own set genre, so there are extra annoyances to be had if you match your attitude to whatever genre you’re viewing: laugh at inappropriate, unfunny moments ten seconds too late during a comedy, for example, or “BOO!” people in a tense interlude in a horror.

The online mode offers a unique mix of 1 VS 100 and a solution to piracy. Full films will be streamed through the game’s multiplayer, and you’re welcome to watch them for free if you can put up with everybody else being as hellish as possible. The last person to be left in the cinema gets a download link to legally acquire whatever film they were watching so they can view it moron-free.

I mentioned that you can also play as the victim. This mode is very simple. You take the abuse, you bide your time. You remain calm. The calmer you are, the higher you score, the more you win. I appreciate that that’s difficult, so you might want to retaliate in kind, but then you also have to avoid being kicked out. You could alert the staff to their treachery. Or you could take off your shoe, turn around to the perpetrator and beat them to death with your heel. And that’s what should happen to anybody attempting to sing along to Michael Jackson’s This Is It during the quiet songs with all the finesse of a tone deaf llama.

Images: Unrepentant Old Hippie, Wikimedia

Xbox Live Indie Games: In Wireless Hell

njsykora — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 03:30:27 +0000

On a night with a full moon, I must offer it salt and vinegar Kettle Chips and bathe it in the blood drawn from a papercut. Then, and only then, will my Xbox 360 wireless adapter light turn green and allow me onto Xbox Live. This has become an issue and not just because I want to play games online. You see to play an Indie Game you need to be signed in to Xbox Live. Not just a trial or to download games, even Indie Games you’ve bought and paid for. This is something I feel has to be changed, I can play XBLA games and disc games offline but not Indie Games. I have to admit this hasn’t annoyed me until now, but I’ve become slightly addicted to last week’s Game of the Week SFG Soccer. I think it’s the first Indie Game I’ve added points just to buy and the stat building in the Career mode is becoming slightly addictive. I introduced it to my brother, who’s a FIFA nut but was raised on Sensible Soccer, and he loved it for its pure simplicity. So I’m extremely happy that this kind of sports game can work on XBLIG, now about College Lacrosse 2010….

We have eleven games to deal with this week including one game that I played in the Indie Arcade at Eurogamer last weekend. For more info on the other games I played there check out the post I wrote about it here.

Squid Yes! Not So Octopus!
Loafjaw – 80 Points

This game was in the Indie Arcade at Eurogamer Expo and I quite enjoyed it. It’s a very visually busy arena shooter (not dual stick) where the aim is purely to survive for eight minutes. Collecting gems and killing enemies will increase the score further past the eight so that the time bonus gives you up to a maximum score of nine. Awards (basically achievements) are in the game alongside options to play the game with autofire on for disabled people and even options to tone down the visual effects if you’re not into the whole Jeff Minter style eyefuck. I’m quite comfortable putting this alongside I MAED A GAME WITH ZOMBIES as one of my favourite XNA shooters. It knows what it does well and sticks to it, for once an 80 point game that doesn’t feel cheap.

Scare Me
WolRon – 80 Points

Just in time for Halloween last week is a miserable collection of minigames that can be tampered with to trigger unexpected scary things after a set time or by doing something. It’s basically a prank program that costs money and there are plenty of flash games around that’ll do the exact same thing for nothing. Pointless.

Lodestar 1000
BadRadish – 80 Points

Aww, a cute little robot mascot in a videogame? I can’t wait to see what imaginative little game this little guy’s creator has dreamt up for him. Oh wait, it’s another fucking Simon clone. Well that’s not fair, a Simon clone that also uses the analog sticks and the 360’s notoriously imprecise d-pad. So it’s Simon without the addictive simplicity.

Space Milkman
Smileboom – 240 Points

First things first, this is a very good looking game. It has tons of that ‘charm’ thing I keep banging on about whenever an XNA platformer comes around. Basically it’s a 2D platformer, you move left and right, jump and slide around enemies and obstacles to reach the level exit. What Space Milkman has as a unique selling point is coloured berries that give you new abilities. Using these in the right places is essential for finding all the hidden cakes around the levels and getting past the traps and enemies. These berries and their abilities are perfectly explained in the early levels as they’re introduced one by one. I’d probably call this the best platformer on Indie Games right now.

Antigrav Racing Championship
R3dDr4g0n – 400 Points

If I had to describe this game in one word it would be ambitious. R3dDr4g0n not only has a stupid name but also a bit of pedigree with XNA games, his first game Petank Party went all the way to the finals of Dream Build Play 2007 while he no doubt made loads of money from his rather less critically successful A Perfect Massage. So now he brings us a full 3D racing game in the Wipeout/F-Zero mould. It’s clear that a lot of work has gone into this from ship designs to tracks (of which there are 20) but for all it’s graphical prowess the game is let down by one major flaw. The lighter ships turn way too quickly and often buried me into a barrier, while the heavier ships barely turn at all resulting in an irrational fear of speed boosts. Once I had a handle on the game’s extremely loose handling, I found myself having quite a bit of fun. It takes a bit of effort to get into but if you’re willing to put in the effort then I think you’ll have the same fun I did.

Mirror
David Flook – 80 Points

The idea behind Mirror is that you have to guess the position of green dots once they’ve been reflected in a mirror. It doesn’t sound fun on paper and it isn’t fun in practice, even when multiple mirrors are introduced to try and make the game harder. The fractal artwork unlocked by clearing levels is nice, but not nice enough to want to endure the tedium of the game itself.

Snaker Ace
Lemonball Games – 400 Points

Oh hoo-bloody-ray it’s a Snake game. Somehow I have managed to do this column for seven months and not had to deal with one. Yet here we are at the arse end of 2009 having to play Snake, a game that was revolutionary in its day. Unfortunately its day was about six years ago and I’ve long since gotten tired of it. What makes me amazed then is that this game, with full 360 degree control and some rather nicely designed mazes and enemies manages to be a completely broken version of Snake. Once you reach the first real maze you’ll find the controls are so twitchy that the slightest correction to get that egg just over there will run you into either your tail or a wall. So well done Lemonball, you’ve managed to ruin Snake even more than everyone else who’s ripped it off.

Tank-tastic!
Ouch Games – 240 Points

A tank game isn’t interesting to me, a tank game played out through drawings on graph paper however is. It’s fairly basic stuff, the drawings are nice and have the hand drawn look I’d expect considering it’s all taking place on graph paper and campaign missions run a nice variety from kill everyone to capture the flag and capture point. There’s multiplayer value here to be certain so if you have a friend then certainly consider it. For everyone else give it a try as well, you may find there’s enough in the campaign to make you hand over the points.

The Flashlight
Alex Blickenstaff – 80 Points

Oh fuck the fuck off right now. It’s a program which turns your screen white and probably took less than a minute to make. That said there is a strobe mode so if you’re an epileptic looking to cash in on your health insurance or sue Alex Blickenstaff for not including an epilepsy warning you may want to have a look. Just don’t tell anyone I gave you that idea okay.

Head Shot 2
Silver Dollar Games – 80 Points

The original Head Shot was a horribly boring affair with no real goal other than shoot things. Somehow it managed to become popular and sells a metric ton of shit to this day. The sequel looks better and actually has some clues as to who you’re supposed to shoot which improves it immeasurably over the first game already but ultimately it’s still boring as hell because the game doesn’t go anywhere. The backgrounds change and people become smaller but you’re always just looking for someone and shooting them. Interestingly there’s a little catalogue in this game of all the other games Silver Dollar have supposedly done and surprise surprise, it’s practically the entire North Squard catalogue. However there’s something a bit more sinister there. The catalogue shows the brilliant DBP’08 finalist Blow among the games yet Blow’s page on the marketplace makes no mention of them. I’m currently very wary of Silver Dollar, and I think they deserve to be given a wide berth. Here’s to the first Leave to Die rating for a renamed North Squard.

Experiment 12
Buddrick – 80 Points

Simple no-frills run and jump platforming is something I enjoy a lot and that’s what this is. Avoid pits and cross platforms to reach the level exit by jumping and wall jumping. There’s not much to screw up, but wall jumping is made awkward by having to push the control stick towards the wall before you can jump off it. For long strings of jumps this becomes annoying when you don’t move the stick fast enough and drop down. Jumping is also rather stiff and unresponsive so what I’d say is ignore this and go buy Pixel Man if you want a no frills platform fix.

A reasonable week leads to no clear game of the week. My decision however goes to Space Milkman, a gloriously charming platformer that is cheap, but I would say offers a level of enjoyment on par with plenty of upcoming 2D platformers going for full retail price.

If you’ve been struck by game-creating inspiration then check out XNA Creator’s Club or Kodu Game Lab for tools and advice for making that dream a reality. If you’re a developer who wants a bit more exposure for your game then you can advertise on the site by clicking the Project Wonderful links below any of the site ads or send us a review token for your game.

Bioware Writer Uses Big Words in Defense of Bioware Stories

player66 — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 01:20:55 +0000

It’s nothing new for gamers to criticize a developer in forums. That’s what the Internet is for, well that and p0rn. It becomes newsworthy when a member of the development team fires back with a wordy and sensitive response.

Take Bioware for example: It’s common knowledge that a lot of their games have similar characters and sometimes share plot devices. User MEaholic on Bioware’s forums linked to a chart titled, “Bioware RPG Cliché Chart”. The chart details similar character and plot devices across all Bioware RPGs like, “You hail from humble origins” and “you must travel to four main locations in order to save the world/galaxy”. The chart’s author, StillGray describes the chart as tongue-in-cheek and claims to have nothing but love for Bioware’s games.

Enter Bioware staff writer Patrick Weekes.

So I’m supposed to believe someone is smart enough to do a big Excel spreadsheet with color coding and stuff but not smart enough to know about Campbellian archetypes?

Yeah, guys, every BioWare game has the same plot! See, things are kind of normal, and then things change and you have to go out and do stuff, and you go to crazy weird places! Aaaaaand so yeah, totally the same story.

That’s asinine.

The core idea isn’t that bad — I sense that someone started out with a good concept, like “Hey, you go to four places a lot,” and then they just decided to add some more filler rows to try to make a real zinger, except that when you actually read the cells, a lot of them are stretches.

In any event, the “intro, four planets, finale” structure is something we have used often for a few simple reasons:

1) It’s easy. It’s not as easy as making the player do everything in order, but you can generally just treat each area separately except for a few variables, which makes logic-testing and QA work a ton easier. What happens on Feros stays on Feros. BioWare knows how to make these games, make them solid and workable, and ship them — and if need be, we can always cut areas, which sucks, but we can do it if need be. Some structures don’t allow for that, which is why you end up with games where it’s clear that the devs ran out of time or money at some point.

2) Players can understand it. In usability tests on one project, we learned that players with more than four things to do at a time in any given area will feel frustrated — they get overwhelmed and have no idea what to do first and get the names mixed up. So you don’t dump twenty small planets on the player all at once. You hit them with a few big things that they can understand: “Go to Feros.” And then once they’re there, they unlock several different things to do that don’t compete with the rest of the universe, because right now you’re on Feros. “Kill Varren.” “Get Power Cells.” “Turn on Water Valves.” “Go to ExoGeni.” (And we even cheat a bit by giving you missions, which are big and obvious, and assignments, which we tell you are less important.)

In testing out our missions for ME2, the single biggest lump of story feedback we’ve gotten has boiled down to Information Flow. When a mission feels clunky, nine times out of ten it’s because we either told the player way too much all at once and expected the player to keep it all straight, or we didn’t actually tell the player enough and so the player is kind of lost. Dividing up our game into four or five large worlds allows us to control information a bit better.

(And to be clear, that four-worlds-and-out thing is a simplification that ignores major critpath events and makes it sound like you only visit four big areas in KotOR, which flat-out isn’t true.)

3) There’s nothing wrong with it. It’s a structure, like any other. Humorously snarking that our games have a beginning part that is streamlined and introduces you to the game, a middle that allows you the freedom to go to several places and have adventures, and then a tightly focused ending is like riffing on how romance novels generally start out with two people being attracted to each other but having emotional issues, then gradually building trust, then having a complication that splits them up, and then in the end they get together and are happy. People who create fiction in any form use a structure appropriate to that form. They do it because their audience understands and responds on an emotional level to that structure.

Wow. That’s a lot of text, huh?

Clearly Mr. Patrick Weekes needs to take a chill pill. Bioware’s RPGs are almost universally revered for their characters, dialogue and depth. That’s not to say that they are flawless or above criticism. The next time a fan creates a mock chart to elicit some LOLs in a community forum, it would be wise for any dev to smile, nod and get back to work. This humour chart clearly hit a nerve with ol’ Pat leaving us to wonder: Why doth the developer protest too much?

Via: Destructoid

UK Supermarkets in Modern Price Warfare

OrangeGoblin — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 23:30:37 +0000

With the release of Modern Warfare 2 just around the corner, it seems that supermarkets in the UK have gotten a little trigger-happy with their pricing guns.

Although Activision are releasing the game at an inflated retail price of £54.99, Sainsbury’s will be selling it tomorrow morning for just £26 – more than 50% off. Not to be out done, Tesco will be going one pound lower to £25 – but only if you buy the game with any other title in their top 20. Other supermarkets are also getting in on the action. ASDA have Modern Warfare 2 for a now uncompetitive £32, while an unconfirmed rumour suggests Morrisons may drop to an incredible £17.99 if you spend another £25 in-store.

This price-slashing madness has come as a surprise to many online retailers, who have already sent out their higher-priced copies of Modern Warfare 2 in a bid to avoid postal delays. In an effort to keep up, Amazon have dropped their price from £45 to £32, and their price promise means this applies to pre-orders as well.

No one can deny that these low prices are good for gamers, but are they good for the games industry? This latest price war comes soon after ASDA admitted selling FIFA 10 at a loss, a practice that Konami’s UK general manager, Pete Stone, deemed “unnecessary and worrying”.

If the supermarkets continue their aggressive moves into videogame retailing, could we end up with a similar situation to the book industry? Celebrity biographies and guaranteed bestsellers are piled high alongside regular groceries, but book publishers refuse to take risks on anything that might not turn a profit. I’ll certainly be down my local Sainsbury’s when it opens tomorrow morning for some cheap MW2 goodness, but will we end up paying a higher price in the future?

Ubisoft Tries To Assassinate Low Review Scores For ACII

player66 — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 21:18:15 +0000

Ubisoft has apparently been taking notes from Eidos Interactive in how to handle press reviews for their soon to be released renaissance era, 3rd person action, thriller, genetic time traveler, platformer Assassin’s Creed II. According to a translation seen on WEARETHEINTERNETZ, German games magazine Computer Bild Spiele claims Ubisoft refused to send them a review build of Assassin’s Creed II unless they would “guarantee the score ’sehr gut’ (Very Good)” They go on to say, “We’d be more than glad to give the game a ’sehr gut,’ but only if it deserves it.”

Computer Bild Spiele has promised a review in the January issue based on the publicly released version of the game as they were obviously not willing to play ball with Ubisoft. Seeing that the first Assassin’s Creed sold 6 million units+ worldwide and was critically well received, it seems foolish and arrogant for them to try to bully game reviewers for high scores on the sequel. Maybe they felt the stakes were too high this holiday season to show off their million dollar baby without assurances from the games press. I guess Ubisoft made them an offer they could refuse. Sorry folks, these are the jokes.

Via: Destructoid

Blind Gamer Sues Sony–A Lawsuit That Actually Isn’t Stupid

Nintendoll — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 20:17:44 +0000

Yes, I know from the sound of it this bit of news might seem on the edge of ludicrous. Visiually impaired gamer Alexander Stern is giving Sony a wake-up call in the form of a lawsuit for discrimination of the disabled. The lawsuit claims Sony violated the Americans with Disabilities Act by not making their game accessible to the blind. And, unlike most Americans, his lawsuit actually makes sense.

This isn’t the first time Stern has tried to bring this to Sony’s attention though–apparently he sent both written letters and emails to the company requesting they allow for modifications that would assist the visually impaired. Sony chose to completely ignore these requests, probably because big corporate entities never care about the little guy. Insert sarcastic joke about Sony’s moral blindness.

Other games such as World of Warcraft allow for third party modifications, so tools have been developed to help visually impaired gamers enjoy their raiding. The focus on this lawsuit is on MMO’s, and while it’s not specifically mentioned the clues lean towards Sony’s Everquest titles. The claim goes so far as to say that Stern is actually losing money, since in-game items can be auctioned for real money. Since he can’t access this part of the game Sony are, in a very passive way, stealing this guy’s money.

I think Sony might think twice before ignoring the requests of their fans and customers again.

Better Double Check Those Security Settings In Windows 7

Philbart999 — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 11:00:17 +0000

For those of you who have recently updated to the new and wonderful world of Windows 7 you might want to check those security settings or at least be sure to renew your antiviral security program(s) before going too astray online. Daily Tech has reported on some testing by internet security firm Sophos in reaction to early builds of Windows 7 drastically altering the default UAC settings in comparison to the much-maligned ones of Windows Vista.

If you’re not clear, UAC refers to User Account Control or, the annoying alerts and questions from Windows Vista asking the user for permission for many functions, updates, etc. While there was much to get frustrated with Vista over, ironically the default security settings shouldn’t have been one of them. We all know that Windows is the default whipping bitch of most professional and amateur hackers, and the default UAC settings of Vista were a step in the right direction for Windows users.

Unfortunately, responding to the complaints of the masses, Microsoft has played with the default security settings of the UAC to the point where Sophos has found that; “Of the ten pieces of malware tested, Windows 7 wouldn’t install two of them. Of the remaining eight only one generated a UAC warning, allowing the user to disallow its installation”. So if you’re keeping track at home boys and girls any system using the default UAC settings of Windows 7 on a rig with no supplementary antiviral protection has a success ratio 2:10 when it comes to malware. These are not numbers that I’m particularly comfortable with when it comes to internet security. Oh for the love of Vista!